Halden

Sardinha Atlântica

A Lisbon cannery that had been packing fish since 1931, with labels to match. We redrew the range as a set of collectable postcards, one for each stretch of coast.

Client
Sardinha Atlântica
Year
2025
What we did
Packaging, identity
Timeline
10 weeks, Lisbon
Orange and red steps climbing a wall against a deep blue sky

The brief

Sardinha Atlântica’s fish is excellent and its tins were forgettable: the same faded label since the eighties, lost on a shelf of a hundred retro lookalikes.

They wanted to sell abroad without looking like a souvenir.

Our answer

Every tin is a postcard from the town where the catch comes in, drawn by an illustrator from that town. Collect the coast.

Behind the colour sits a strict system: one typeface, one grid, the species and catch date always in the same corner, so the range reads as one brand from across a shop.

Rows of bright umbrellas hanging over a narrow street
A blue and yellow facade seen from below against a clear sky
The corner of a red and orange building against a deep blue sky

What Happened Next

The numbers, half a year on.

  • export orders in the first year
  • coastal towns illustrated so far
  • delis and grocers stocking the range abroad

We used to compete on price. Now people buy a second tin to keep the first one company.

Portrait of Rita Fonseca
Rita FonsecaManaging director, Sardinha Atlântica

Made By

  • Portrait of Ingrid SolbergIngrid SolbergCreative direction
  • Portrait of Beatriz MatosBeatriz MatosDesign
  • Portrait of Inês CarvalhoInês CarvalhoWords
  • Portrait of Marta ReisMarta ReisProduction
Offshore wind turbines standing in a calm blue seaNext projectIdentity, websiteNordvind

Got a Brief? Send It Over.

AvailabilityBooking new projects from Mar 2027

  1. Dec 2026Full
  2. Jan 2027Full
  3. Feb 2027Few slots
  4. Mar 2027Open
  5. Apr 2027Open
  6. May 2027Open

Send a few lines about the project and your launch date. A studio lead will reply by the next working day.

hello@halden.studio